Last week the first snow fell in Moscow. It was a signal for hordes of wolflike, grimy orphans to hitchhike back to the capital from their summer "vacation" in the country.
These urchins were orphaned by the War, revolution, famine. Once there were two million of them; now there are said to be only 100,000. They live by theft and the world is their home. Now they are fighting with sticks, stones, fists, knives for the possession of tar boilers for winter shelters.
One urchin, questioned in the street as to how he...
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